* Happens in ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' where Akagi wins a mah jongg game by making what would appear to be a stupid, illogical move. When asked to explain himself, he says "I'm not limited by your reasoning."
* Towards the end of ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'', when [[spoiler: Princess Oboro]] is faced with the option of either [[spoiler: killing her beloved Gennosuke]] or [[spoiler: letting him kill her]], her decision is to... [[spoiler: go to him, give him an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove... and then [[HeroicSuicide kill]] ''[[{{Seppuku}} herself]]'']].
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** In the {{filler}} Bount arc, thanks to Mabashi, Orihime has to either attack a mindcontrolled Rukia or take a potentially fatal beating from her. Hisagi openly tells her that she'll have to fight Rukia, and Rukia herself begged Orihime to kill her before she was taken over, but there's no way Orihime would kill one of her friends... She decides to give Rukia a CooldownHug ''and'' activate her healing/barrier powers as she does so, managing to save Rukia Without either attacking or letting her attack her.
** It's speculated that Byakuya subtly invoked the trope in his last fight against Ichigo, at the end of the Soul Society arc. If he wins said match, his adopted sister Rukia will be executed and ThePromise [[DeclarationOfProtection he made to protect her]] ([[TheLostLenore to his dying wife Hisana]], Rukia's biological sister) will be broken, [[DespairEventHorizon which will emotionally destroy him]]. If he openly loses the fight, his whole clan will be dishonored [[PillarsOfMoralCharacter because he will have broken the law for personal gain and worse, broken a promise to his parents to uphold the law]]. So what does he do? [[spoiler: Byakuya shows up, fights Ichigo and then ''[[ILetYouWin throws the fight at the very last moment]]'': that way Ichigo and his friends rescue Rukia and everyone thinks Byakuya did what he could to protect his honor. (And then comes TheReveal so everything else is forgotten, but Byakuya couldn't know that)]].
* In ''Manga/BloomIntoYou'' this happens in a ShowWithinAShow. A high school girl loses her memory, and meets with three people who knew her. Her schoolmate describes her as [[TheAce highly popular and reliable at school]], her younger brother describes her as [[AloofBigSister cold and distant at home]], and her lover says that she was willing to show a vulnerable side around her. The main character, facing an identity crisis, feels pressured to "choose" one aspect of herself, and in the original script, chooses the one her lover saw, since she believes that's most likely to be real. However, in the revised script, the main character's nurse tells her that she also sees another facet of the main character, one that the nurse would be sad to lose, so the main character instead decides to [[BeYourself be herself]] and start over with everyone else.
* ''Manga/BusoRenkin'': Kazuki, the main character, has a habit of trying to choose a third option, even [[LampshadeHanging actually calling them out loud while doing so]]. The best example of this is towards the end of the series when Kazuki is faced with the choice to either use the white kakugane on himself and save his own life, or use the white kakugane on Victor and save the world. With Papillon's help he comes up with a third option of simply making another white kakugane and saving them both, but [[spoiler: the white kakugane doesn't work entirely on Victor]]. So obviously he comes up with the fourth option of [[spoiler: sending them both to the moon and supposedly killing both of them]].
* [[spoiler:Terry Grandchester]] takes one in the BoardingSchool arc of ''Manga/CandyCandy'', when [[spoiler:he and Candy are tricked into meeting up in the night and caught, which means Candy will be expulsed and Terry punished]]. Between [[spoiler:throwing Candy under the bus to save himself]] and [[spoiler:taking all the blame which will ruin his future]], the person decides to [[spoiler:[[CallingTheOldManout call out his father]] (one of the school's benefactors and basically the only reason why he hasn't been kicked out already) and willingly drop out of school so he can pursue his actual dream of being a succesful actor]].
** A person taking another is ''vital'' to the plot. Rather than [[spoiler:taking over the leadership of the Andree clan despite his inexperience and the opposition of the older members who see him as JustAKid]] or [[spoiler:refusing to be the leader and thus leaving the family at the mercy of said older members]], [[spoiler:William Albert Andree]] decides to [[spoiler:create the fake identity of ThePatriarch, Grand-Uncle William Andree, who will become HeWhoMustNotBeSeen. That way the younger and more problematic members will believe they're under the thumb of an older man so they won't rebel, and at the same time the older members won't be "embarrassed" and "bossed around" in public by a man barely in his 20's/30's]].
* ''Manga/CaseClosed'': Due to a series of events, Ran is on the brink to find out that Conan is Shinichi. This Leaves Conan with two options: Either continue to lie to her (which would make her figure it out sooner or later) or telling her the truth (putting her in danger). [[spoiler:He is about to choose the latter until Haibara shows up threatening him... and giving him a third option]]: [[spoiler:Introducing the temporary cure to the apotoxin, he turns back into Shinichi and has Haibara dressed like Conan, "proving" that the two are different individuals]].
* At the end of volume ten of ''Literature/TheCaseFilesOfJewelerRichard'', Seigi is expected at 25 to choose a career between joining Richard as a jeweler or following his original plan of going into public service. [[spoiler:He decides to be Richard's secretary instead.]]
* In an episode of ''Manga/CityHunter'', Ryo is faced with a rather tough HostageSituation in a restaurant. The villain knew how powerful Ryo's gun was, so he placed himself in front of a window leading to a crowded street, presenting Ryo with a SadisticChoice: either don't shoot and let the villain go free, or risk shooting and having the bullet pierce right through him and injure/kill an innocent civilian. [[spoiler:Ryo shoots ''through his hand'', slowing the bullet down enough for it to take out the villain without injuring anybody else]].
* In ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'', the eponymous women are able to tap into their SuperpoweredEvilSide to gain speed, strength and various supernatural powers. However, surpassing their limit will cause them to transform into a monster. During the "Carnage in the North" storyline, an extremely powerful Awakened Being is laying waste to the Claymores assembled there, and Clare realizes she can't defeat this opponent without exceeding her limits. Rather than give in and transform completely, she only allows her legs to change, thus granting her the speed she needs to save her friends.
* While he rarely lets enemies limit his freedom to just two options, the CrazyIsCool MagnificentBastard [[Characters/CodeGeassLelouchLamperouge Lelouch Lamperouge]] in ''Anime/CodeGeass'' constantly turns the tide of seemingly lost engagements by doing what nobody would expect of him, i.e. always taking the hidden "third" option.
** A specific example of this came up in season 2, episode 8: [[spoiler:With the re-creation of the Special Administrative Zone]], Lelouch was stuck between several undesirable choices -- [[spoiler:abandon being Zero, get exiled from Japan, or start another battle--an option made unacceptable because ''his sister Nunnally'' has been made the local viceroy, and not only would a fight put her at risk, but she's a pacifist]]. The third option [[spoiler:or maybe fourth: Trick the Britannians using a LiteralGenie-type definition of Zero, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei1Gv4w3ATw then get a million of his supporters to dress in Zero costumes so that, rather than be exiled alone, he's free to take his army and the battle to Britannia]]]].
* In the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession5BalladOfFallenAngels Ballad of Fallen Angels]]", Spike is given the choice of surrendering or watching a mook put a bullet in Faye's head. Considering Spike is known to be a gunslinger of godlike ability, and that he's pointing a gun straight at said mook's head, you'd think they'd have foreseen his taking [[ShootTheHostageTaker the third option]]...
* The ending of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' leaves Hei with the choice [[spoiler:whether to envelop Hell's Gate -- and Japan with it -- in his quantum powers, allowing the Contractors to exist without fear of interference but isolating Japan from the rest of the world (and possibly killing off every non-contractor inside), or do nothing and let the humans destroy Hell's Gate, killing off the other Contractors and returning the world to normal; this choice is Hei effectively choosing whether to be a Contractor or a human]]. He decides to [[spoiler:pick 'both'; his personae, combined, ruin the weapon intended to destroy Hell's Gate. This breaks the {{masquerade}} in the process and leads to an open human/Contractor coexistence]].
* In ''Manga/FateKaleidLinerPrismaIllya'', Illya calls out to this trope specifically, when the BigBad tells her that she must choose between saving Miyu's life or saving the world. Illya responds that she's going to strive to find a way to do ''both'', and even points out that the whole point of the Holy Grail is to grant wishes that are supposedly impossible.
* Al of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' does this when Kimblee asks him which option he and Edward will choose: getting their original bodies back or saving the world. Al asks why they can't do both, and goes on to explain that striving for what shouldn't be possible is the road to progress. Kimblee is impressed, but then turns right around and [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] the trope by suggesting that, if the situation is flexible enough that the third option, succeed at both goals, exists, there must then be a fourth option: fail in both their goals.
** In the climax of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', Edward finds the solution to recover Al's body without either using a Philosopher's Stone or sacrificing another human. [[spoiler: He gives up his Portal of Truth, which is what gives him the ability to perform ANY alchemy]].
* In ''Manga/GalaxyExpress999'', specifically the movie ''Adieu Galaxy Express 999'', it was revealed that [[spoiler:the Conductor's invisibility is a result of this. Being unable to decide over a human body or a machine one, he chose his formless invisible one instead. Throughout the show, he had been angsting over this decision, but had finally come to terms with it]].
* Near the end of Case 6 of ''Manga/GhostHunt'', the main cast finds out that the haunting is being caused by a [[spoiler: a curse that the students of a school unknowingly put on the vice-principal]]. There are only two ways to end the haunting: [[spoiler: allow the curse to complete, thus killing the VP, or turn the curse back on the students, possibly killing all of them in the process]]. At first it seems like Naru is going to take the latter of those two options, but then he takes a third option: [[spoiler: he has Lin create effigies of all of the students, and those effigies are destroyed when the curse 'turns back on the students']].
* In ''Manga/HalfAndHalf'' the third options are ignored. Shinichi and Yuuki are in the void with the voice that originally told them that one of them had to die after 7 Days. Shinichi asks if they can pick third options: Both die or both get to continue to live, with the current restrictions. The voice tells them no, ''one'' of them ''has'' to die. [[spoiler: Yuuki was originally chosen after discussing it, but after Shinichi hears a voice coming from Yuuki about wanting to live, he realizes that she's pregnant with his child and chooses to die himself so she and the child can live]].
* In ''Manga/HisAndHerCircumstances'', when Arima confesses [[spoiler:for the second time]], Yukino is very troubled over her inability to give him a proper reply. Will she reject him definitely? Will she openly accept his affections? She chooses to [[spoiler:reach down and grasp Arima's hand into hers during a student council meeting]].
* This was a common tactic of Gon, the KidHero of ''Manga/HunterXHunter''. In particular, in the beginning, the three heroes find that OnlySmartPeopleMayPass through town on their way to the Hunter Exam, in the form of a purely hypothetical SadisticChoice that must be answered immediately with an "A" or "B" response. [[spoiler:The two [[KidHero Kid Heroes]] figure out, by carefully examining the rules for loopholes and using their SuperSenses to hear someone that got a "right" answer screaming in the distance, that silence is the ''real'' right answer, as no such decision should be taken so lightly]]. They then have to explain this to TheWatson, who [[spoiler:only passed because his moral outrage initially stunned him into silence for the duration of the time limit -- outrage because no such decision should be taken so lightly]]. Later, in one of the official rounds of the [[TournamentArc Exam]], this trope is played much more straight. Having picked up another hero and a by-then-revealed LovableTraitor, and progressing down a timed dungeon of trials on a strictly all-or-none basis, they are told they must choose between leaving two people behind (presumably the LovableTraitor and one close friend and take the short path to victory, or all run out of time together taking the long path. Gon, being AllLovingHero, refuses either, and since the doors are right next to each-other, [[spoiler:he gets them to open the door to the long path, and work together with the LovableTraitor to dig through the wall to the short path]].
* ''Manga/InuYasha'':
** In the "Red Tessaiga" arc, [=InuYasha=] is told he must acquire a new power to break Naraku's barriers by hunting down the members of the bat yokai tribe, killing the one who maintains the barrier around their home and letting Tessaiga absorb their blood. When he gets there though, he finds the barrier-using yokai is actually an innocent hanyou girl, Shiori. Faced with the choice of murdering an innocent (and a hanyou like himself) or failing to acquire the power to break Naraku's barriers, [=InuYasha=] initially chooses the second option, planning to walk away and find a different demon he can kill for the power. It's Shiori herself who offers the third choice -- the ''actual'' source of the power is the Blood Coral Crystal she's been holding all this time, so [=InuYasha=] can simply break ''that'' and acquire the power he needs, which he does.
** Kagome is one forced into a SadisticChoice by Naraku... [[spoiler: He possesses a priestess and has her attack Kagome, trying to force the girl to choose between allowing herself to be killed or killing the priestess in self-defense. Since the other woman is currently committing evil under DemonicPossession, she will be condemned to hell if Kagome kills her in this state; and if Kagome willingly chooses to kill her knowing this, she will lose her holy powers and cease to be a threat to Naraku anyway]]. Kagome manages to invoke the trope by [[spoiler: finding a way to ''exorcise'' the priestess of Naraku's possession]].
* In ''Anime/IrresponsibleCaptainTylor'', Earth is caught up in an inter-galactic war. Tylor is [[spoiler:put in command of the whole fleet]], ready for the big face-off with the approaching enemy fleet. All-out conflict seems inevitable, and no-one is sure whom will come out the victor. When the time comes, he [[spoiler:gives one order -- "Full speed ahead." The enemy commander, Dom, who's Tylor's WorthyOpponent, gives the same order. Members of '''both''' sides are screaming at them to order the attack, all while the ships get closer and closer to each other. Their respective flagships get close enough for them to physically see each other, and Tylor goes to the window. Standing there, he sticks out his hand, as if to give the order to attack, and Dom does likewise. Gun batteries are readied. The tension is unbearable. Then Tylor slowly and deliberately ''salutes'' the enemy commander, who, seeing his plan, returns and holds the salute until their fleets pass harmlessly by. War averted, ''both'' sides win]].
* In the "Land of Adults" chapter of ''Literature/KinosJourney'', a little girl [[spoiler:(a younger Kino)]] is given the choice between death and a brain surgery that will render her a cheerful slave to her job. [[spoiler:Hermes]] offers her a third option: [[spoiler:escape and become a traveler]].
* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'', Aya gives Yukako the chance to restore her deformed face if she can identify her face among dozens of faces. The truth is that none of the faces are Yukako's; [[SecretTestOfCharacter only if she realizes this will Aya fix her face]]. [[spoiler:Yukako takes a fourth option and asks her boyfriend to choose for her, saying that she will be satisfied with his choice. Furthermore, when he requests to be blinded in case Yukako ends up ugly to ease her pain, Aya is so moved by the couple's love for each other that she restores Yukako's features anyways]].
* Kenichi Shirahama from ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' takes one to [[spoiler:save Miu Furunji from Junazard, who has gotten her BrainwashedAndCrazy ''and'' has pit her against Kenichi himself]]. Instead of [[spoiler:seriously harming or killing her in self-defense]] or [[spoiler:letting her beat him to death before she can even recognize him]], he decides to [[spoiler:smash the helmet she's wearing, which enhances the brainwashing. It sorta works as Miu snaps out of it, realizes what's going on and stops attacking Kenichi... [[SubvertedTrope though not completely]], as there's a high possibility of her being mentally re-taken]].
* In ''Literature/{{Maoyu}}'' the Hero doesn’t choose between the Demon Queen and Lady Knight, the Light Novel series ends with the three of them, and only them, deciding to retire and travel together to some faraway place to live quietly.
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' and its sequel, ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', has the patented method of resolving the wars of the Cosmic Era by building up another faction that proceeds to wipe the galaxy with the original sides.
* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', Heero Yuy given the choice to either give Wing Gundam to his enemies or have them slaughter ''everyone'' in the colonies by a [[DarkActionGirl Lady Une]] [[KickTheDog who's in full puppy-kicking mode]]. What does he do? He [[spoiler:calmly steps out of the cockpit, says his mission in life is over and ''pushes the self-destruction button'', destroying his Gundam and almost killing himself in the process. That way Une won't have the Gundam, but she won't be able to kill the colonists due to the intervention of her leader Treize]].
* ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid'' has the young mermaid Sun saving an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Nagasumi's life, but upon doing so and letting him see a glimpse of her -- she broke the code of secrecy between merpeople, and their existence will be revealed to humans. To keep the secret, either Sun or Nagasumi must die... but Sun demands Nagasumi to [[AccidentalMarriage marry her instead]] so neither of them will be executed.
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', The PowerTrio of Nagato, Yahiko and Konan is cornered by Hanzo, who has young Konan as his hostage. Either Nagato had to kill his best friend Yahiko, or refuse and let Konan die. What happens in the end? [[spoiler: Yahiko takes the third option: commiting suicide by grabbing Nagato's hand, which held a sharp ''kunai'', and stab himself with it]].
** The Chuunin exams in one of the first arcs plays this slightly differently: the point of the insanely-hard test is to force the student ninja to cheat, so either they get caught cheating and are kicked out, or they prove their ninja skills by cheating without getting caught. Naruto [[TooDumbToFool turns in his test completely blank]], and [[TheSmartGuy Sakura]] [[MundaneSolution works out the answers herself]]. Both of them pass because they were never caught cheating.
* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', Setsuna is forced by Evangeline in a SecretTestOfCharacter to either be a [[TheStoic cold]], [[TheUnfettered limitless]] swordswoman to better serve her princess Konoka or take her happiness beside the girl and live her life in peace [[IJustWantToBeNormal without protecting anything]]. [[EarnYourHappyEnding She choose to have both]].
** This comes up again in one of the later chapters, post 250, where Setsuna having lost, more or less, to the crazy swordswoman who's got a crush on her, believes she may actually have to give up on happiness, or leave protecting Konoka to others. She fails to notice, and it fails to interrupt her inner conflict, when a weapon comes flying out of a nearby fight. She slices with weapon in half without even breaking stride, leaving dear Konoka standing in awe. Konoka then proceeds to berate her, convinces her to make up her mind, and then [[FanPreferredCouple we finally get the kiss we've all been waiting for]]. Well, most fans have been waiting for...
* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', [[HopeIsScary Gendo Ikari]] believed [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Third Impact]] was inevitable, and that humanity had only two options; [[KillAllHumans let the Angels trigger it and wipe out humanity]] or [[AssimilationPlot do it themselves and preserve the human spirit]]. In the original series, Gendo triggers Third Impact himself and his plan goes off without a hitch. In ''End of Evangelion'', Shinji does it instead [[{{BittersweetEnding}} but leaves the door open for people to come back]]. In ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' however, [[spoiler:Shinji manages to [[CharacterDevelopment move past his traumas]] and chooses to seek out a better future for mankind, using the [[PhysicalGod power of Instrumentality]] to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong and [[EarnYourHappyEnding get rid of the Angels once and for all]]]].
* Shion of ''Literature/No6'', having decided that leaving things as they are is not good and that destroying No. 6 isn't either, comes up with the third option of destroying the wall between No. 6 and West Block. Nezumi calls him a dreamer and an idiot but [[spoiler:it kinda works out in the end]].
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** During the Arlong arc, Nami asks Luffy and crew to leave the island and not interfere with her business. Luffy does not want to argue with Nami, but he does not want to leave the island either, so ''he goes to sleep in the middle of the road''.
** It's not so much a third option, but a fourth option. When someone first comes to the New World, there are three islands that they can go to: Risky Red Island, Mystoria Island, and Raijin Island. Luffy was planning on going to Raijin Island, which Smoker anticipated, because its needle on the Log Pose is the one shaking most violently. However, Luffy and the crew evade Smoker and Tashigi, due to a timely distress call and pure chance as to where their ship landed from their underwater trek; they go to an island ''the Log Pose didn't even register''. Thus began the Punk Hazard arc.
** Rather nicely lampshaded when Luffy faces Katakuri, who had been this close to defeating him recently:
--->'''Katakuri:''' So why have you returned? Have you chosen [[DefiantToTheEnd death]] over the shame [[DirtyCoward of being called a runner]]? Or have you seen the difference the truth of the difference in our skills, [[WeCanRuleTogether and come to beg me to allow you to join us]]?\\
'''Luffy:''' I'VE COME TO BEAT YOU!\\
'''Katakuri:''' I don't believe that was one of the options!
** At some point, [[spoiler: Capone Bege]]'s beloved wife is captured by [[spoiler: her antagonistic brother]] Charlotte Oven, who threatens to execute the poor woman right there. Rather than abandoning her (even when [[DefiantCaptive she tells him to leave her]]) or surrendering to the captor and his group, he chooses to... [[spoiler: blast Oven in the face with his ship's cannon and rescue Chiffon himself]].
** When attempting to peacefully leave Big Mom's crew, Jimbei was forced by Big Mom to [[SadisticChoice choose to either]] remain with the crew or spin her consequence roulette where Jimbei can lose an arm, legs or his head in order to leave. Knowing that Big Mom has rigged the roulette and he will lose either his or his crew's lives regardless, Jimbei decides to [[spoiler: quietly back down in the meantime before openly rebelling against Big Mom with Luffy]].
* ''Manga/OokuTheInnerChambers'': The representative of the Shogunate, who is negotiating with the Americans, is put in a position of either signing an ''extremely'' unpopular unequal treaty to open Japan to foreign trade (which will delegitimize the Tokugawa Shogunate and cause the hardliners to rise against the Shogunate for bowing to the foreigners), or to refuse to sign the treaty (which will cause the Americans to declare war on Japan to open it to foreign trade). He chooses [[spoiler:to bring the Emperor's Court into the proceedings to attempt to stall for time, by claiming he needs the Emperor's approval for any treaty. This unfortunately turns out to be the ''worst'' thing to do, as not only does the Emperor command him to refuse, but the direct involvement of the Emperor in Shogunate business ends up delegitimizing the Tokugawa Shogunate and causes the hardliners to rise against it for bowing to the foreigners, now with the Emperor as a rallying figurehead]].
* In ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'', [[spoiler:Masako]] is given a very odd SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:she and Mario have to eat potentially poisoned food as a test from her grandfather Sanbei, who is possessing Mario's body. If she chooses the harmless dish, Mario will eat the harmful one and die; if she eats the poisoned food, Mario will win but end up as his grandfather's SoulJar and puppet]]. How does this end? [[spoiler:With Masako ''eating both dishes''. She ends up in a coma that lasts several days, but saves Mario from Sanbei's soul's control]].
* In the {{hentai}} manga ''Power Play'' by Yamatogawa, the protagonist, who is a reincarnation of the Evil Sex King, is given the freedom of choosing which Heroine will stay with him, and drain him of the power everyday for the rest of his life, so he won't awaken as the Evil Sex King. He chooses his former familiar who is actively trying to awaken him, convincing the heroines that he will stop her from trying to unseal him.
* At the climax to the "Chapter of Egg" in ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', [[DarkMagicalGirl Kraehe]] has [[MindControlEyes captured]] [[TheWisePrince Prince Mytho]] and challenges [[MagicalGirl Tutu]] to a competition to win the affection of Mytho's [[HeartTrauma feelings of love]]. What Kraehe is [[MortonsFork counting on]] is the fact that if Tutu [[CannotSpitItOut confesses her love for Mytho]], she will disappear. This being ''Princess Tutu'', the show where the main character routinely uses her magical ballet dancing to accomplish her goals, so no points for guessing what happens next.
* Almost at the end of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', Madoka Kaname is in a ''very'' tight spot. The short version is that she can either ''not'' become a MagicalGirl and therefore not be able to help everyone when something really bad s about to happen, or she can do it, sacrificing herself because being a Magical Girl really sucks in this universe, and her doing so will eventually lead to even worse consequences. [[spoiler:If she doesn't become a Magical Girl, the witch Walpurgisnacht will destroy her city and probably kill a bunch of people she cares about. But if she does become a magical girl then she'll become the witch Kriemhild Gretchen, and destroy humanity]]. To make things worse, [[spoiler:two Magical Girls have died, one became a witch and had to be killed, and the only one left is seriously injured and about to become a witch]]. What does Madoka do? [[spoiler:In this setting, magical girls get one wish. So Madoka ''does'' become a Magical Girl... and uses her wish to ''retroactively erase all witches from existence''. Not only does this solve the current problem, it changes reality to the point where some dead characters come back and the show's magical girl system is changed forever. Though it's not without a price, since Madoka must AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence]].
** Attempted earlier by [[spoiler:Hitomi Shizuki]]. She's very troubled, emotionally speaking: [[spoiler:she has feelings for a guy named Kamijou, but she knows that her old friend Sayaka does too]]. Will she just [[spoiler:go "IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy" and give him up without a fight]], or [[spoiler:talk to him about her own feelings, completely bypassing Sayaka's]]? The girl then decides to follow the trope: [[spoiler: she explains the situation to Sayaka and tell her to confess to him first, while also warning her that if she doesn't do it, she will tell Kamijou what SHE feels]]. However... [[spoiler: Hitomi [[LockedOutOfTheLoop doesn't know]] that [[OurLichesAreDifferent Sayaka]] [[WhatHaveIBecome has]] [[DarkMagicalGirl her own]] [[FallenHero problems]]... and then, it gets worse]].
* ''Manga/PrunusGirl'': {{Ambiguous|Gender}}ly-[[WholesomeCrossdresser crossdressing]] Aikawa puts Maki on the spot about what gender he regards him as by giving Maki a choice of two candies to feed him -- to turn him into a boy or girl (respectively) in body and soul. [[spoiler:Maki feeds Aikawa both]].
* In ''Manga/RaveMaster'', the main character had to choose between killing his girlfriend or dooming the whole of time to destruction at the hands of her out-of-control powers. Haru instead elects to TakeAThirdOption, sealing Ellie's powers to stop the threat and spare her life; his WellIntentionedExtremist opponent, having failed to consider such an alternative due to his eagerness to ShootTheDog, is broken down in defeat. This trope also played a part in a ProphecyTwist that foresaw the scenario, but lacking appropriate context, implied that Haru really did ShootTheDog.
* Anime/SailorMoon will find a way to save everyone, specifically in the anime. Even when every other soldier is captured, she's beaten to a pulp, and the ONLY way to save the world is to give the bad guys what they want, Usagi will use the power of love, the power of friendship, or straight-up luck to save the world and her friends--and usually the bad guy, too.
** Although in the [[Manga/SailorMoon Manga]] -- [[spoiler:Sailor Cosmos]] ''tries'' to take a third option by [[spoiler:traveling to the past in the guise of Chibi-Chibi and convincing her past self to destroy the [[CosmicKeystone Galaxy Cauldron]] and the newborn EldritchAbomination inside it]]. This is shot down when Sailor Moon realizes that [[spoiler:destroying the cauldron won't actually fix anything -- said Abomination would be destroyed, yes, but the scenario would just repeat elsewhere]]. So no matter what happens, [[spoiler:[[InferredHolocaust millions will die in a war against an invincible enemy]]]]. [[DownerEnding ...yay?]] She still manages to take a ''different'' third option, by [[spoiler: purifying the Cauldron of Chaos' influence rather than destroying it or letting it remain as is]]. It's not a perfect solution [[spoiler: as even that won't eliminate Chaos permanently]], but it's better than the alternatives [[spoiler: which would leave Chaos entirely unchecked, or similarly set him back temporarily ''and'' doom the galaxy to a slow death]].
* ''Manga/SaintSeiya'':
** A rather beaten up Pegasus Seiya is cornered by DarkActionGirl Ophicus Shaina and Silver Saint Crow Jamian. Problem is, he's holding Saori Kido in his arms and cannot fight directly since they're atop of a cliff and she'll inevitably get hurt. The enemy says: "Either fight us or hand us the girl." What does Seiya do? [[spoiler: He asks Saori if she trusts him, she says she does, and then ''[[SuicidalGotcha they hug and jump off the cliff together]]''. Since it's late at night, Shaina and her partner cannot go for them; Seiya is unconscious for quite a while, but he manages to buy time for himself and Saori]].
** In ''Anime/SaintSeiyaSoulOfGold'', [[spoiler: the {{Heel Face Turn}}ed Deathmask can't kill his rival Fafner, or a group of children that [[WouldHurtAChild Fafner is holding hostage]] will die, and he certainly can't let him off the hook either]]. So... [[spoiler: he finds HeroicResolve thanks to the cheers of the children, and after activating his temporary God Cloth, he uses a brand new technique to submit Fafner to a FateWorseThanDeath, ''chained forever in Yomotsu Hirasaka between life and death'']].
* Examined as the subject of ⅓'s episode of ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'', though focusing on everyday third options. You know, the ones where you cannot make up your mind in a choice between two desirable options, and ends up choosing a third, undesirable option instead, and then ends up regretting it later on... Everyone together now: I'M IN DESPAIR!! BEING TROUBLED WITH CHOOSING SOMETHING AND ENDING UP SELECTING A THIRD OPTION HAS LEFT ME IN DESPAIR!!
* Attempted in ''Manga/{{Shitsurakuen}}''. When [[ActionGirl Sora]] rescues [[ShrinkingViolet Tomoko]], Tomoko asks to be released ''back'' into slavery as she doesn't trust Sora's protection. Sora thinks about the situation and transfers Tomoko to a male accomplice for safety. [[spoiler: The accomplice is actually the BigBad in disguise. Oops]].
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}'', when [[spoiler:Asa and Rin]] are faced with either [[spoiler:having the half-demon girl Asa use her demonic powers freely despite [[BrokenBird her psychological blocks]] about them]] or [[spoiler:have her keep them bottled in until they kill her]], what do they decide? [[spoiler:Since Asa refuses to use her abilities for her benefit, Rin takes a knife and injures himself gravely to force her use them to heal his wounds. That way, Asa releases the magical energy that endangers her own life, and she does this ''to save Rin'' instead of harming herself and others]].
* In the GrandFinale of ''Anime/SoltyRei'', [[spoiler:Roy Revant]] gets the SadisticChoice of [[spoiler:having to choose which of his daughters, bio-child Rose or adoptive kid Solty, will he save from Ashley, the BigBad]]. What happens? [[spoiler:Roy chooses... to ''shoot his own arm'' so he won't have to take Ashley's options. Ashley counterattacks and wounds Roy, but by that time Solty has managed to free herself and attacks ''him'' too]].
* Three of these are taken in ''Literature/SorcererStabberOrphen'':
** In the first series -- [[spoiler: When Orphen is about to save Azalie-in-Childman's-body ''and'' Childman-in-the-body-of-Bloody-August-Who-Once-Was-Azalie, the SmugSnake Flamesoul destroys Childman's body, leaving the souls of both Childman and Azalie hanging around by a lifeline since only one can be placed in Azalie's returning body]]. Orphen's solution is [[spoiler: to place Azalie's soul ''and'' what remains of Childman's own inside Azalie -- [[TrulySingleParent then, Azalie becomes]] [[SomeoneToRememberHimBy pregnant with her and Childman's baby]]]].
** Also in the first series, and [[PlayedForLaughs played far less seriously]] -- Orphen is ChildhoodFriends with Hartia, a sorcerer who badly wants to help him [[spoiler: save Azalie/Bloody August]], but cannot leave the Tower of Fangs. Both were {{fanboy}}s of a certain novel hero named "Black Tiger," and Hartia still adores the character... Three guesses as to who he dresses up as, to give Orphen a hand without actually leaving the Tower. Subverted in that Orphen easily guessed the truth but, realising Hartia's intentions, accepted his help [[spoiler: until, thanks to someone else's manipulations, [[WasItAllALie he was led to believe]] that Hartia was just pretending to help him]].
** In ''Orphen Revenge'' -- [[spoiler: Cleao's best friend Lycoris [[ApocalypseMaiden turns out]] to be a girl who once died of illness and then was revived through her father and sister's a DealWithTheDevil with the monster Escalena -- and to keep their part of the deal, they have kidnapped and killed several mages, with Orphen as the next prospect victim. Unwilling to allow her family keep doing such shady deeds [[LoveMakesYouEvil to keep her alive]] ''and'' also unwilling to let her friends harm the father and sister she still adores, Lycoris decides to [[HeroicSuicide kill herself]] so Escalena won't tie her family's hands and Orphen and Co. will be free. [[InterruptedSuicide Fortunately]], Cleao is fast enough to ask [[BadassAdorable Leki]] for a fourth choice: to morph Lycoris' blade away and prevent her from taking such a drastic measure]].
* In ''Anime/SpiritedAway'', Chihiro is given a pen of pigs and must choose which of the two among them are her parents in order to free them and herself from the spirit world. Her choice? [[spoiler:Her parents aren't there]]. Counts as FridgeBrilliance as the scene has a double meaning that says [[spoiler:that her parents ''are not pigs'' and Chihiro is human, not just a mere animal]].
* In ''Manga/{{Suzuka}}'', the lead female Suzuka takes one when [[spoiler: her boyfriend Yamato gets upset upon learning that she wants to visit her dead boyfriend's grave one last time, which he sees as a reluctance to truly let go of her past]]. Instead of complying to his demands and deny herself the chance for closure, or just go there without his input and risking a bigger fight, she [[spoiler: calmly asks Yamato to come with her in the cementary trip]].
* While ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' is fond of the heroes choosing difficult options, Episode 26 has a moment when [[spoiler:the Anti-Spiral re-explains the consequences of using the Spiral power, then asks Simon if he is willing to destroy the universe for a "fleeting emotion." Simon grips his controls, glares through his star-glasses and declares he will save them both: the girl and the universe. Then he destroys the enemy by blasting through space and time]].
** This might be considered the defining trope of the series. To the point that the FinalBattle is essentially a FramingDevice for Simon to give a [[NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech "No More Holding Back"]]/TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about it.
* Used in an episode of ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' involving two lovers on the run from a slaver caravan. Said caravan is en route to a fortified city which will only grant entrance to travelers with a special key, which happens to be tattooed on one of the runaways' arm. The protagonists are faced with two options: help the couple elope, thereby stranding the caravan outside the city and condemning its inhabitants to slow death by starvation, or return them to the caravan, forcing them into a life of slaving and/or slavery. Instead, [[spoiler:Vash fakes the runaways' deaths, thus allowing them to live free and sparing the caravan from responsibility for losing the key -- nobody is going to blame them for the Six Million Double Dollar Man's actions]]. The trope is explicitly claimed in Nicholas Wolfwood's closing monologue: "All along I thought there had to be a sacrifice, but there was another answer: Vash the Stampede."
** In a later episode, in response to a nasty HostageSituation that is clearly a trap for all concerned, Wolfwood initially favors rushing in as the only course of action that will leave any of them alive. However, he adds...
--->'''Wolfwood:''' I know a guy who whines and cries until he finds a way to save everyone. A man who takes a stand, though it scares him from head to toe. And he's ''right here''.
** This is in fact Vash's standard policy in a hostile situation -- try to find a way to let everybody live. At one point he suffers a HeroicBSOD when he can't figure out how to save everybody in time and is forced to kill the bad guy before he can harm anybody else. When he finally snaps out of the HeroicBSOD he promises that next time he'll find the third option.
** This, combined with an examination of pacifism, is the CentralTheme of the story. In the backstory, we see a moment when Vash and his twin Knives disagree over how to save a butterfly from a spider's web. Knives simply crushes the spider, while Vash complains that he wanted to save both. Knives points out that this policy would only result in the spider starving anyway. This is the essential conflict: Knives maintains a monoperspective realism about the relationship between humans and his race, while Vash idealistically seeks an alternative that allows everyone to benefit.
* In episode 6 of ''Anime/TweenyWitches'', Arusu is forced to decide whether to learn flight magic at the expense of the freedom of a griffon or refuse to rob a griffon of its freedom and be unable to learn magic. She manages to get around this by getting a feather from a griffon that she saved from the special capture squad.
* In ep 4 of ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', Battler is given a choice between killing the person he loves most, himself, or everyone else on the island. But since he doesn't have anyone that he loves, he elects Beatrice to that spot and chooses her. [[spoiler:This is pretty ironic considering he marries her in Ep 6]].
* In ''Literature/UnlimitedFafnir'', Yuu figures out a way to save Iris from turning into a dragon against her will, or being killed by his sister Mitsuki, while also stopping the dragon that was attacking the school.
* Taken by [[spoiler:Ranka]] in the ''Manga/VampirePrincessMiyu'' OAV. She must [[spoiler:transform her lover Kei into a doll to sustain herself]] or [[spoiler:lose him to Miyu who has her eyes set on him and wants to drink his blood]]. What does she do? [[spoiler:Since she loves Kei so she neither wants to make him a mere puppet nor lose him to Miyu... she ''transforms him into a Shinma'' instead. That way they stay together forever in the Darkness, and it doubles as a last laugh to Miyu]].
** [[LampshadedTheObscureReference Lampshaded]] right afterwards by [[spoiler:Himiko]], who [[spoiler: tells Miyu that she lost in the end, not as a shinma hunter or a vampire, [[LoveHurts but as a woman]]. Miyu at first denies it since she technically ''did'' win (the Shinma ''were'' vanished), but when Himiko adds the "as a woman" bit, she can't bring herself to speak up and just leaves with Larva]].
* Happens in ''Manga/VinlandSaga'', when [[spoiler:Askeladd]] is blackmailed by [[spoiler:King Sweyn]] with the following command: "You either [[spoiler: kill Prince Canute]] or we will [[spoiler:invade your beloved Wales]]." What does he do? [[spoiler: Reveal his identity, kill Sweyn, and allow Canute to kill him, knowing that Canute will grow into a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and protect Wales]]. [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent]].
* In ''Anime/{{Windaria}}'' Veronica is torn between a vow to her late mother to protect her kingdom and her love for the prince invading her kingdom. The solution? [[spoiler:[[MurderSuicide Kill him and then herself]]]].
* In ''Anime/YesPrettyCure5'', Karen finds herself overwhelmed by the various clubs -- their stuff is worn out and they want replacements ''now''. Unfortunately for everyone, Karen isn't part of an AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil and approaches the headmistress for more money. The headmistress urges her to find a third option, which she does -- taking the old gear from each of the clubs and re-purpose them for the others.
* In ''Manga/YoureUnderArrest'''s first season, [[spoiler:Natsumi breaks her arm and Nakajima breaks his leg]] while [[spoiler:trying to catch the rogue officers that cause accidents]]. They don't want to stay aside in that very difficult case, but at the same time their physical injuries would make them loads. So they invoke the trope via [[spoiler:getting a specially outfitted motorbike that lets ''both of them'' drive, since Nakajima is in charge of the steering wheel and Natsumi manages the pedals]].
* Subverted in the original ''Anime/YuGiOh''. CrazyPrepared Marik sets up the [[spoiler: Yugi vs. BrainwashedAndCrazy Jounouchi (Joey)]] duel in such a way that there ''can't'' be a third option to take. If one wins, the other dies due to being dragged into the sea by an anchor that he's cuffed to. If one tries to forfeit to help the other, both will die. If someone else tries to interfere from the outside, a girl ([[spoiler:Anzu/Téa]]) taken hostage and strapped to a seat near to the arena will be crushed to death by a HUGE metal box dangling over her head (in the original manga, she's BrainwashedAndCrazy and has a pill of lethal poison that she'll swallow on command). And if they try to stall the Duel, the anchor is set to a timer that will drag them both into the sea after a set time. How did this end up? [[spoiler: Yugi ''still'' takes a third option: debrainwashing Jounochi and ''willingly'' setting himself to die. Then Jounouchi takes his as he manages to save Yugi and sets ''himself'' to die. His sister Shizuka/Serenity (in the anime) or Kaiba (in the manga) rescues him. Oh, and in the anime, Kaiba saves Anzu right before Jounouchi almost perishes, since she had saved his brother Mokuba earlier; in the manga, the pill falls harmlessly from her mouth when Marik stops his brainwashing]].
** The video game adaption adds a simple option: Draw.
** Ending a duel in a draw is also one of the very few ways that both duelists in an Orichalcos duel can escape with their souls intact (which, apparently, Dartz's CoDragons were aware of.)
** Played straighter in the final duel between Dark Yugi and Dark Marik, where Dark Marik sets up a Dark Game where the winner would lose the soul of their host or other personality; however, unbeknownst to everyone but Dark Marik, Dark Marik could live without his dominant personality, since, unlike Dark Yugi, Dark Marik is not a spirit living in a host body, but is merely a split personality. [[spoiler:This is foiled when the original Marik finally gains the spiritual strength to ''switch places'' with Dark Marik, and then peacefully surrenders the game, eliminating the evil personality for good]].
* ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', Jack Atlas and his UnwantedHarem. Will it be Carly, whom he confessed to once in the Dark Signer arc? Mikage, his manager who was always on his side? Or will it be Stephanie, the waitress who always serves him his favorite coffee, the [[MythologyGag Blue-Eyes Mountain]]? [[spoiler:He [[DumpThemAll Dumps 'em All]] in the final episode and disappears]].
* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', [[MadDoctor Doctor Kamiya]] uses his powers to infect the city with a horrible plague. He informs Yusuke that the plague will disappear if he dies or is knocked unconscious, since he is maintaining it with his powers. Doctor turns out to FeelNoPain, making it impossible to knock him out. Doctor orders him to choose: break his ThouShallNotKill creed, or watch as the innocent people die horribly. Yusuke punches him into the sky, knocking him out of range and unable to maintain the plague.
** The trope doesn't apply uncut. In the uncut version, Yusuke actually does land a blow that stops his heart, but Genkai revives him with a chest compression. Still, it's enough to break his psychic territory, and although Yusuke is relieved Doctor Kamiya was revived, Genkai assures him that in his case (a policeman's dilemma), [[IDidWhatIHadToDo deadly force]] ''was'' justified.
** The demon Raizen attempted to devour a beautiful human woman who worked as a medic, only to discover that she [[PoisonousPerson had incorporated all manner of poisons into her body]]. The Lady Doctor calmly says that if Raizen devours her he'll die within hours, and adds that killing her wouldn't accomplish anything in the end. So what does he do? [[spoiler: [[SexFaceTurn He seduces her]]. And they become Yusuke's ancestors]].
** [[spoiler: After Hiei's soul gets taken away at the beginning of the Chapter Black arc. Kaito explains that they have two options. Kuwabara decides that they have a third option. To leave Hiei behind and move on without him. This option isn't viable for Kaito however]].
* In ''Literature/TheZashikiWarashiOfIntellectualVillage'' the titular character tracks down a youkai which is stealing organs from young children for a trafficking ring. When she attempts to reverse the theft the youkai points out many of the stolen organs have already been implanted in sick children. Returning the organs will kill many innocent children while not returning them will kill a small number of equally innocent children. The zashiki warashi responds by [[spoiler:[[RealityWarper rewriting destiny]] to duplicate the stolen organs so all of the children are saved]]. Doing so damages her "core" as a youkai.
* Gash in ''Manga/ZatchBell'' is given the choice of either saving a friend and dooming the rest of the world or letting the friend die and save the world from the threat. He takes the third option of first saving his friend, then the world.
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